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March 02, 2013

This 'n' That: Civil Disobedience, Politics, ... You know - "stuff"

[Image: Sailboats on the Severn, 2011,JAVanDevender]

Daniel 6:10 (NKJV)

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

"The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies.... A very few, as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men, serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it."

I would not class myself as an adherent of Thoreau in general but he made his contribution and this essay in particular is worth reading. There comes a time when 'civil disobedience' is a Christian citizen's duty. It is one more way to serve one's country and the wider good of mankind as well.

When tyranny threatens and the mass of unthinking citizens are too wrapped up in their own immediate spheres of self-interest to care, then certainly they are not neutral but rather are, as "machines", blithely assisting in their own ultimate destruction. Then it is that Christians, who should be, by the very "separateness" of their perspective on things, their different ordering of priorities, their knowledge of truth, and therefore able to be more "objective" in their assessment of issues, are called to act as watchmen on the wall and sound the alarm.

Freedom is a scary thing, but clear eyed folks know that unbounded government power is far more terrifying. The current political issues (sequestration, gun control) are, at their root, discussions about how government is to be understood as the primary determinant of the nation's well being. On neither side is it being discussed that government ought NOT to be so viewed. I am incredulous at how readily the Legislative and Judicial branches ascribe superiority of prestige and authority to the Executive. This is certainly not the historical case. Once upon a time the executive branch was viewed as "merely" functional. All of the major decisions were made in deliberation in the houses of congress and/or the judicial branch and the executive branch carried them out. Now we see judges and congress-people say they are "waiting" on the President to "lead." This is about where the Roman "Republic" was during the time of Pompey and Julius Caesar, and we know how that turned out.

I am more sad than frightened about this state because what appears to be inevitable is that we are entering into a "time of troubles." The United States has a long history of violent / passionate resistance to government infringements on liberty. The Whiskey Rebellion occurred during George Washington's first term. John Brown, the mass demonstrations by WWI veterans in the early 19th century, etc. etc. points toward a specific, underlying, element in our national DNA. We saw it in the riots that happened during the 60's. Watts is forever associated with burning cars and rampaging mobs. Labor demonstrations have turned vicious, inflamed by agitators on both sides.

The current political vectors leave me little hope that such a period, perhaps even more intense, is not in our future. The financial situation in this country is a ticking time bomb with relatively few seconds left on the clock. A general population that has been accustomed to living on government hand-outs will not lightly react to the repercussions of a national default (bankruptcy). The current gun-control measure is not, ultimately, about decreasing crime. It is about making more things illegal so that government will have more "legal" avenues for investigating, fining, and intimidating law abiding individuals. It will have zero effect on those who are oriented toward a life of violent crime.

What is most disturbing to me is how (1) self-evident this situation is, and (2) how easily those in position of government power distract the general population from the reality. Lemmings, if indeed they commit mass suicide, do so because the guy in the pack sees nothing in front of him but another lemming's back side until he comes to the edge of the cliff. Then the pressure from behind pushes him over also. That, in a nutshell, is how I am inclined to view our current status.

There comes a point where, as with Daniel, we Christians need to remember that our duty to the State is not blind obedience, nor always passive submission, but intelligent use of our freedom in Christ. The government is not our master unless we freely allow them to dominate our wills. Perhaps we, as the community of Christ, ought to be taking a more definitive stance with regard to the issues that will determine the social mileau our children will have to endure.

That's what Daniel did. That's what the Christians in ancient Rome did and died by the the thousands. Perhaps it is our turn.

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You write: . . .There comes a point where, as with Daniel, we Christians need to remember that our duty to the State is not blind obedience, nor always passive submission, but intelligent use of our freedom in Christ.. .

This is good stuff -- thoughts worth praying about, esp. in light of the current Bible study that is engaging my brain and heart: Revelation. We just finished chapter 17.
Nothing can assuage or redirect the current coming disaster, can it? Therefore where we stand, and how is crucial. Matthew 11:29-20

An especially relevant reminder for American Christians, who (in contradistinction to Christians in many other lands) live under a constitution that explicitly prohibits the government from engaging in many of the activities it is engaged in today. In that sense, sitting idle while the government does things it is not supposed to is *more* disobedient than rising up and saying 'NO!'.

Some measure of disobedience to our governors (via submission to the constitution) was recognized as an integral aspect of citizenship by many of the founding fathers. As TJ said:

"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."